The Toy Industry Association’s (TIA) 114thNorth American International Toy Fair in New York City is less than 24 hours away and as always we are preparing to bring you coverage of the newest products and toy trends for the latter year gifting season. Cameras are packed, lenses are polished, and we’re stocking up on energy bars for the 4 day foray that encompasses the entire Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and parts beyond.

Another Fine Mez…
Thanks to the fine folks at Mezco Toyz we got an amazing head start. Their recent sneak peek event (held at their outer borough Fortress of Solitude) afforded the opportunity to grab lots of unfettered photos of their upcoming offerings. This post will reveal the additions to their One:12 Collective, but you can expect plenty of pix of Living Dead Dolls and other licensed goodies to appear here as well. Keep in mind this is an advance look and many of these prototypes are still pending licensor approval.Read the rest of this entry »

With National Entertainment Collectibles Association’s (NECA) new Portal Device Prop ready to hit the market, it seems like a perfect time to show you some of the other spectacular franchise tie-in’s that are coming from the company this year. Thanks as always to Randy Falk, Director of Product Development for taking the time to show Kenny Pierce and I the exciting things in the offing for 2012.

1 To 1 Replicas…
Like Portal enthusiasts, Assassin’s Creed and BioShock gamers will have life size replicas to add to their collections. Bio-Shockers get a crack at owning the ornate Sky Hook Prop, while would-be Ezio’s can plan their next stealth mission with the weapon of choice, the hidden blade. NECA also has an excellent array of action figures from those franchises to choose from, including the upcoming Ezio Onyx pictured below.

Knockin’ Rocky’s Block Off…
An unexpected but very welcome addition to the line are the licensed Rocky Balboa action figures. These super realistic, sweat glistening, models are astounding. Rocky, Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago are all represented. As you can see from the photo, action figure is an understatement as one of the sculpts depicts the Sylvester Stallone character taking a jaw smashing, blood spurting, wallop.

Still Hungry?
There’s quite an assortment of new items on NECA’s menu to be excited about. Along with goodies from both The Harry Potter and Twilight series, NECA has everything you need to outfit yourself for a round of The Hunger Games. Their assortment of Head Knockers continues to grow with superheroes, monsters and even the Jeff Dunham characters. I particularly love the selection of Iron Maiden “Eddies”. You can see their Marvel Avengers Superhero Clix Set in my Avengers Resembled blog post.